No Philips production codes are visible on these tubes, so unless they are hidden in the photos, I seriously doubt that they were manufactured in the Heerlen, Holland, factory. As others have pointed out, it is unfortunately quiet common to see "made in Holland" or "made in Germany" printed on tubes when in fact they were made elsewhere. (>_<). While I don't know for sure, it does seem quite plausible that they were manufactured in a Matsushta factory on an old Philips assembly line. Unfortunately, by 1974, as the state-of-the-art was transitioning from vacuum tubes to solid state, most vacuum tube production was retooled to meet minimum standards as cheaply as possible. Even so, as they were manufactured on Philips equipment, they may well sound quite good, but likely different than the earlier tubes manufactured in Heerlen.

I agree, but I'm actually inclined to believe that Matsush¡ta received brand new equipment because they were making tubes using Philips technology long before Philips ceased tube production in Europe. The technology transfer certainly didn't happen by Philips dumping their old disused machinery to Matsush¡ta when getting out of the receiving tube business.

Had most all those plus the Lorenz Stuttgart PCC88 2 & 3 micas and the Mullard CV4109s. Right now my favorite tubes are the Philips Miniwatt E188SQ, Amperex 6922 PQ, and USN-CEP 7308s...all with at least one backup set.

Cheers!
-HK sends

PS - I know one or two folks (MrScary...where are you?) that spent more...

So the Lorenz Stuttgart double micas are pcc88s made in Germany, not the E88CC ones I posted a picture of?

I have had three of your favorites and really liked the Amperex CEP-USN 7308s. I did a long head to head evaluation in my Lyr and Intregrateds. In the end I sold the USNs and kept the '75 Voskhods. The wire getter version in particular had this magical 'flow' quality. Not saying the USN were slouches - awesome tubes.

Would love to do a head to head with those Tele CCas and the '75 6n23ps. Same for those Valvo and Lorenz CCas.Edited by rb2013 - 4/11/14 at 2:50pm

That's what's so amazing about this amp. You really can change the sound signature in so many drastic as well as subtle ways. That's half the fun of tube rolling. I think my next amp is going to be the Cavalli Liquid Glass so I can still roll these tubes as well as several other types as well.

A bunch of us are currently running all the same tubes the Liquid Glass runs in our modded Little Dots, and more. It is pretty neat to be able AB a 1975 Voskhod rocket, a 1944 Sylvania 6SN7W, a 1955 Eindhoven-made E80CC and a 1951 Bendix 2C51 in one session.

But of course, there is no way my $110 dollar Little Dot, plus $50 worth of mods, can compare in quality to the Liquid Glass, or even a Lyr. But in terms of tube rolling fun, it can't be beat for money.

That's what's so amazing about this amp. You really can change the sound signature in so many drastic as well as subtle ways. That's half the fun of tube rolling. I think my next amp is going to be the Cavalli Liquid Glass so I can still roll these tubes as well as several other types as well.

No Philips production codes are visible on these tubes, so unless they are hidden in the photos, I seriously doubt that they were manufactured in the Heerlen, Holland, factory. As others have pointed out, it is unfortunately quiet common to see "made in Holland" or "made in Germany" printed on tubes when in fact they were made elsewhere. (>_<). While I don't know for sure, it does seem quite plausible that they were manufactured in a Matsushta factory on an old Philips assembly line. Unfortunately, by 1974, as the state-of-the-art was transitioning from vacuum tubes to solid state, most vacuum tube production was retooled to meet minimum standards as cheaply as possible. Even so, as they were manufactured on Philips equipment, they may well sound quite good, but likely different than the earlier tubes manufactured in Heerlen.

I have pulled the tubes from the Lyr and indeed there are no Phillips production codes. My confidence in mercedesman has dropped considerably as his description of the tubes in the Ebay ad seems totally fabricated. I posed the same question " Are these basically rebranded Amperex OG's" to him this morning and his response was "Made in the same factory, on the same lines, by the same workers, with the same materials,.....You make the connection ;). Unless someone else has evidence to the contrary I will contact him for a return/ refund. Should I confront him with the info from the forum or simply state "there are no Phillips production codes on the tubes to substantiate your product description on Ebay or your assertion ""Made in the same factory, on the same lines, by the same workers, with the same materials,.....You make the connection ;). ? Thanks, satwilson

I have pulled the tubes from the Lyr and indeed there are no Phillips production codes. My confidence in mercedesman has dropped considerably as his description of the tubes in the Ebay ad seems totally fabricated. I posed the same question " Are these basically rebranded Amperex OG's" to him this morning and his response was "Made in the same factory, on the same lines, by the same workers, with the same materials,.....You make the connection ;). Unless someone else has evidence to the contrary I will contact him for a return/ refund. Should I confront him with the info from the forum or simply state "there are no Phillips production codes on the tubes to substantiate your product description on Ebay or your assertion ""Made in the same factory, on the same lines, by the same workers, with the same materials,.....You make the connection ;). ? Thanks, satwilson

if you like how they sound that is all that matters... if you feel mislead and your unhappy with your purchase then I'd talk to him about returning them.

I have pulled the tubes from the Lyr and indeed there are no Phillips production codes. My confidence in mercedesman has dropped considerably as his description of the tubes in the Ebay ad seems totally fabricated. I posed the same question " Are these basically rebranded Amperex OG's" to him this morning and his response was "Made in the same factory, on the same lines, by the same workers, with the same materials,.....You make the connection ;). Unless someone else has evidence to the contrary I will contact him for a return/ refund. Should I confront him with the info from the forum or simply state "there are no Phillips production codes on the tubes to substantiate your product description on Ebay or your assertion ""Made in the same factory, on the same lines, by the same workers, with the same materials,.....You make the connection ;). ? Thanks, satwilson

to me, the tube business is very tricky, and complicated, but i love the sound of tubes ! so, i buy them, and i've bought a few, and quite a few from mercedesman, and i've been happy with them all.

IF there is some misleading information, i'm sure its unintentional, with no intent to deceive, just ask him about the info you've read about here

and i agree with kvtaco17, the sound is the only thing that matter to me, i don't care where tube comes from really, if it sounds good, its good